After a brutal February, Toronto rethinks its snow removal plan
THE GREEN LINE
DOCUMENTERS NOTES
After a Brutal February, Toronto Rethinks Its Snow Removal Plan
On Feb. 27, the Infrastructure and Environment Committee met in City Hall to discuss the City of Toronto’s strategy for dealing with snowstorms.
Toronto saw up to 35 cm of snow within one week in February 2025.
: Anthony Lippa-Hardy/The Green Line.
Sebastian Tansil
Caring mastermind who loves spending quality time with friends and family. Empathetic and precise economist by training. Loves amber yellow as it reminds him of people dearest to him.
March 7, 2025
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This past February has been harsh on any Torontonian who dared to step outside during and/or after the snowstorms.
Our city saw up to 35 cm of snowfall within one week. It resulted in blocked roads and sidewalks for cars, bikes, streetcars and pedestrians.
After the storm, the City of Toronto issued a statement on Feb. 19 saying that snow removal is expected to take up to three weeks. It also announced that parking is prohibited on snow routes, which includes all streetcar routes, and that cars will be towed at the owner’s expense and subjected to a fine of up to $200.
Many Torontonians expressed frustration at transit delays and the pace of snow removal.
On Feb. 27, the Infrastructure and Environment Committee met to discuss ways to improve the city’s response to major winter storms.
Hamish Wilson, a cycling advocate in Toronto, said unshoveled bike lanes, especially on Bloor Street, Queen Street, Ossington Street and Dupont Street, are a real hazard to cyclists who could get “wiped out” due to the snow banks.
Adam Cohoon, an artist and disability advocate in Toronto, shared that instead of passing responsibilities back and forth on who should clear the sidewalks, the city should encourage more volunteers across different neighbourhoods to help clear the snow through better communication.
Until recently, corporate property owners in Toronto had the responsibility of promptly clearing snow and ice from sidewalks around their property. In 2022, the City of Toronto expanded its mechanical sidewalk snow plowing program and relieved private property owners of their obligation to clear snow from sidewalks around their property.
Councillor Jennifer McKelvie, Scarborough-Rouge Park ward, said she was upset at how certain members of Toronto City Council “fabricated a crisis” out of the snowstorm and “threw city staff [working on snow removal] under the bus.” Coun. McKelvie said it is natural to face problems in every snowstorm but that the city has made significant improvement compared to 2022.
Councillor Anthony Perruzza, Humber River-Black Creek ward, said that despite all the city’s spending on snow removal contracts, it is clear that the right tools to clear all the different types of residential streets are not there.
What were the results of the discussion?
The Infrastructure and Environment Committee passed a motion to direct Barbara Gray, the general manager of Transportation Services, to report back in the third quarter of 2025 with a detailed plan to make corporate property owners responsible for promptly clearing their sidewalks again.
The committee also passed a motion to direct Gray to consult the TTC and Toronto Police Service and report back with a detailed plan to deter and rapidly remove private vehicles that block TTC routes during extreme snow events.
If you want to request a snow clearance on a street near you, you can call 311 for a snow clearance service request.
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